Preparing...
Day 1-August 26th 2005
The smile of happy people at the airport...
I was sick like a dog at the airport in Toronto. We had booked that trip out of the blue the Saturday before and the Sunday, I started to have a sore throat and the cough followed. We could not back up,especially when it is your first time going to Europe. We took the limousine like five hours in advance to get to the airport,making sure that nothing bad happens. We took a cheap flight that was bringing us to Gatwick,England. We would live to regret that one. What do you do with a teenager who does not really want to be with his parents and has to wait for five long hours in an airport? You buy food, you walk around and for myself, I was coughing thinking it would be my last hour...and drank a cooler with alcool that made things worse.We finally got into the airplane, on the side aisle. My oldest son had told us to take the central aisle, we immediately understoo why,but my son wanted a window seat. Oh well!!! I said to myself we probably will fall asleep,sure 10.30 at night,but it was hot and soon my teenager had one of his frequent nose bleeds and I was running at the back asking for help from the attendants. It finally stopped,we had to change his clothes,etc.... I always need to go to the washroom myself and because of the narrow aisles in the plane, I was always bumping into someone. Oh well, the calvary was soon over. We finally got out of the flight with my son swearing that he would never fly again anywhere. We were safe and out in Gatwick airport. We thought our aiport was big in Toronto, well it was mini,mini. We were very impressed by the effectiveness of the staff and soon we were gone out of customs,etc...
Day 2- London
Now, phase 2 was to find the people who had graciously invited to stay with them in their home outside London. They had a picture of us,but we had none of them. We started seeing signs with names and faces from hotels,etc... but none with our names. We went back and forth a couple of times to see if we missed one sign,but no... nothing. So, we decided to call the number that they gave us, but we could not use the phone, my son had left us with some pennies from his previous trip and here we are feeling like new immigrants in a foreign country, we tried our calling card, credit card from Canada, but no, it did not work...ha ha!So, we decided to go back in the line up,the greeting committee for all arrivants and then someone had a sign with our name. Our host had just arrived and he rescued us from our anxiety. We soon got out and put our back pack in his volvo. We learned that we had arrived in a Holiday week-end, so the traffic on the road was pretty dense. We were getting to know each other,when suddenly,pow!!! a flat tire. Our host told us to get out and wait on the side of the road, we felt like very useless. My husband is not very handy,I don't drive and when it happens he just call our CAA Here we are on the side of the road waiting for our host to fix the damage, he put an orange vest, installed a big cone a few feet from the car and started the repairs... It did not take long considering,hop we got back into the car to their charming home just outside London. It is a lovely area and he started to explain the history of it all. If I had taken notes, or did not wait too long,I would be able to tell you about it. There we met his wife who has been posting on my forum for years and who felt comfortable of having us over. Soon, we had a delicious lunch prepared, and be assigned to our rooms for the night. We had the opportunity of sleeping on a brand new mattress in a freshly painted guest room. We thought that we were so blessed and that was certainly a great beginning for a first trip to Europe and to be in such great company was a bonus. Our host then drove us to the train station and told us to get to downtown London,and encouraged us to stay as late as we wanted,as their daughter was visiting that evening. We were pretty tired,but we were certainly not going to miss our chance of having a glance at London. When you have only a week to visit as many countries as we had on our list, you jump with your two feet in the sauce. We went first to Waterloo-Wellington Station to buy our tickets for the Eurostar for the next day and also inquire about our Eurailpass. The service was impeccable.
We got to Victoria Station downtown London and soon we were on the number eleven double-decker bus that drove us in most interesting places to see.
. We had a great view of London for the little time we had. We then found a Thai restaurant for supper time. I took a chance, as I am allergic to all peanuts and nuts and you know how Thai cuisine is closely linked to peanuts. It was a great place, but pretty expensive when you start thinking of the fact that it will cost you in pounds what it costs you in dollars. If it costs you 20.00$,well it costs 20 pounds for the same item,but if you make the conversion,it is far more expensive. We then went back to the train station and our host had told us that the taxis were always there to drive us back home. Well, there were no taxis so we talked to someone who told us that they will come in half and hour. Time was passing and we went back there and he said, well you did not ask me to order you a taxi... So,miscommunication was starting. I have to say that British people are polite and the most helpful and they go out of their way,the extra mile all the time. We have seen it throughout our trip in Europe.
Near Victoria Station DT London
We got back home and my son excused himself and fell immediately asleep. We had the pleasure to meet our host and hostess's daughter and her boy friend. We had a conversation, I was thirsty,so I went in the kitchen with my hostess and we started talking. They had washed his clothes that were full of blood in the plane,and we were talking about my son's straighforward talk. Our hostess is a psychologist,so it was great to talk to someone who has an insight on some things that are a bit difficult with our teenager. We then said goodbye to their daughter and friend and we had a conversation altogether, talking about our common pasts in a group in our young years and many subjects. Soon, we were tired and went to sleep in our quiet bedroom.
The next day, early risers we were and so were our hosts. I had no idea how to turn on the light in the washroom and neither did I know how to turn on the shower... so they came to our rescue. We all took our showers, had delicious coffee and small breakfast and we were driven to the train station. Thank you David and Yvonne for your hospitality.
Day 3 Paris,France
We took the train to Waterloo-Wellington Station where the EuroStar departs. I have always been a bit scared about going under the water in between the two countries. I don't know what I was imagining but it is not scarier than to go in the subway. It was a great trip,very relaxing. As soon as I got out of the train, I needed to really feel the ground under my feet, I always thought that going to the land of my ancestors would trigger something special in me, it did not happen like in my dreams.Soon,we were at the Gare du Nord in Paris where my other Internet friend of one year was waiting for us.
Gare du Nord
Once again, I had never met her in person, and although she had sent me a picture of her, I did not recognize her right away. She did,as she had seen pictures of the three of us. Before doing anything else, we had to go to the GAre the Lyon to validate our Eurailpass as England is not part of that system. As that trip was not planned in the details, we had to find out about the first train leaving for Milan with connection to Florence for the next morning. We did that and felt better. My friend had forgotten her money at home but had her subway-train pass at least. Anyway, it was not a problem because we were going to treat her as she was volunteering herself as a guide for us. It is worth millions when you have only one day to see Paris. We bought our passes for the subway and soon we were at the hotel that we had reserved on the internet in the 12th arrondissement. Well,it was supposed to be very close to the Gare de Lyon, but it was not that close... The room was okay with three single beds. It was so hard to find one room for three people, they always want to rent you two rooms...
Anyway, we did not waste too much time, we changed and hop we went back to the subway to see first Notre-Dame de Paris.
The famous rosace in Notre-Dame
The point zero and my foot
which is the measure from N-Dame and all the main cities in France and some internationally. I have heard that many French don't know about it and they pass by without noticing it. My friend Dominique saw it for the first time. Don't they say that all road lead to Paris? I think it was Rome,but let's say it's Paris!
At one point,in the subway the doors got stucked and we were out and my husband was inside. He finally succeeded in getting out but I was so scared that we would lose track of each other. Lost in Paris, that would be a great title for a novel,but the real story did not entice me at all. We walked along La Seine and soon we were hungry. We did not have food for a long time. We stopped at a caf� and my two men ordered a steak-frites and I had a croque-monsieur with wine and my friend had some kind of salad, I think (memories are already fading away...) I am better write fast. We were not overly impressed by the food and the service, but... We continued our walk along La Seine and my friend had suggested that we take a short cruise which depicts all the main monuments and landmarks along the water. We tried to find something, but did not happen as yet. We took a few pictures,looked at the vendors who are selling old books and souvenirs. Soon, the walking got to our legs and we were thirsty. We were getting closer to the Eiffel tower, not a good idea to stop in a caf� for drinks, but we needed to stop for many reasons. So, here we were at the caf� where we ordered kind of a Seven-Up drink, all converted in Canadian dollars,it came up to 22.00$ for four. After my friend had to leave,as she lived outside Paris and she was working the next day. So,she left us with the subway plan and told us where the Eiffel tower was and here we were on our own for the rest of the day.
We found les bateaux-mouche and booked a tour on one of them,took a lot of pictures of the Eiffel tower before the darkness,but we decided not to go on it, because we did not want to wait for hours,especially with my teenager who had it of walking and waiting.
The Eiffel tower
So, we embarked on the boat and listened to the comments which were in many languages with the typical French accordeon music. Then, I felt a few tears coming to my eyes,feeling this French background of mine.
After, I bought a few souvenirs, my French red b�ret with the word Paris on it. I have always used to wear berets in my young age,so in the fall I will wear it for sure. Also, we were looking for a W.C.(washroom),we finally found one with service for 0,40 Euros, I will never know what the service was all about,I could not resist taking a picture of it.
We tried to find our way back by the subway,my son was indicating one way,my husband the other one but finally we made it,thank God! We were very hungry when we finally got back to the 12th arrondissement where our hotel was,but almost everything was closed. We finally ended up at this nice little caf� called Cozy with our first charming waiter who told us about everything there was to know in that part of town. And finally,we each one of us had a plate of cheeses and bread and dessert,as the kitchen was closed for the night. Then, he told us about the hotel upstairs who was brand new and good rates. It will be for the next time. We then went to bed in our single beds...
Day 4 Going to Italy
We called a taxi from the hotel very early in the morning to go to the Gare de Lyon
Then,we finally found our train that was going to Milan in a first time with a connection to Florence.
A well deserved rest
The trip was rather comfortable and it gave us a chance to see a bit of the French country side and the Italian one before Milano.
The view before Milano
We finally got the employee at the ticket counter to write us an okay to take the train for Roma with a stop in Florence,so were all the British group of people aboard. We got to the train in a rush and had a friendly controller at the gate who told us to go the last wagons where they were some empty seats. I could control my nerves finally,but another problem arised: the heat,intense heat in the wagon in question. The heating system was working instead of the climatisation on a hot summer day. It took a little while for them to fix it, but they finally did. My son had another nose bleed. Well,every day almost this summer we had to deal with it. At this point, we were used to it. Another thing was bad, in almost every toilet, they were out of toilet paper. We bought some beverages and sandwiches which were pretty good for a train. Welcome to Italy! That was the start of good food and great lemonatas.
We finally arrived to Florence,tired and late. We had told in an e-mail that we would get there at a certain time, first in the morning and afterwards in the evening. On the plan, the hotel was a walking distance from the station,but all of a sudden we were confused. Hords of people waiting for buses, it was late afternoon, we tried to read our plan but after a few minutes of arguing left and right,we are all very high strong and emotional when we argue about things in my family,we decided to take a taxi.That taxi took us for a ''ride''allright! Finally, we were on the street in question and it was a big discouraging,after three rings at the bell,and no answer, I started panicking. On the web,there was pictures of inside the B&B,but not the outside,so I started thinking that we had been fooled. I took my courage and everybody with me and we went to a luggage store on the other side of the street, I spoke in Italian and described the situation and told her that we had no way to get in touch with the owners. She took the phone number and called and told us that someone would be there shortly. First, outside there was a big wooden door in what seemed to be an old mansion and nobody home....Finally, the owner came and said that he was never there in the eveningat night, but only in the morning up to early afternoon. I thought it was like a Bed and breakfast but with the owners on the premices, then he showed us the appartment we had rented and I got all depressed,I did not like it at all, it was giving on an inside courtyard and we could hear all the neibhgours from the other floor.I had a feeling of insecurity. He showed us a triple room with only a shower and nice paintings on the walls, and it was more suitable. We had rented for two nights but already I was thinking of renting for only one night. We could not. Then, the owner had to show us how to open all the doors: the one outside
, the one in between
and the one upstairs, plus our appartment door. My husband went to try and the key got stucked in. It was like getting in and out of a jail cell...ha ha! We finally resolved the whole thing,got set in, showered,asked him infos about our surroundings and went out for dinner. We were so happy that we had listened to someone who used to post on my board and who lives in Florence. We had chosen the perfect location with everything at hand and in a great part of the city. The other location was pretty iffy... We found the laundromat nearby to wash our clothes,with internet,bank. access,pharmacy,pasticerria for the morning,etc... Our first dinner has been fantastic and I still have the taste in my mouth and the service...INCREDIBLE!!! We went to that restaurant called Dante, just at the corner of our street in San Frediano. We each one had something different, my son had that thin crust pizza,my husband pasta with mussels and seafood and I had also stuffed pasta in a bechamel sauce. They had made a mistake with the order and because they had brough something we did not order and even though we were eating it already, when we got the bill, they had given us the wine for free with lots apologies. We could not believe it. We saw on the walls, pictures of celebrities: Italian stars and international and among them Keanu Reeves.
Dante
Versace boutique
AtelierAimee
On our way back from our first real walk in the city, we stopped for
, it was hot in Firenze while we were there and hords of tourists everywhere in the piazzas and in the markets...
We had to go to the train station to book a train back to Paris,the next evening. Good thing we did that,as there was already a line-up and we were told that there was no sleeper train back direct to Paris,instead there was one that was going through Geneva. We were a bit disappointed,we could not believe that there was no space at all... but we did not think that the last day of August there will be still people going home from their vacation to Paris. I guess the French really take their whole month vacation in August to the last minute.
After our ordeal at the station,we went around the city and walked all the streets,seen the beautiful Duomo
We had gelato again,but it was not as good as at the first place we had it the first day. Then, we saw a horse ride, we looked at the price,it was affordable and we thought it would be good to see a bit of Florence that way. There was a woman there who was begging for money, with a picture of a child that was supposebly hers... she was a real pro at it, she would not let us go. The guy who was driving the horse buggy told her to go. We saw her later somewhere else counting her money with another woman who had also the same picture. Oh,they are real good there...
We went to dinner in a very fast-paced restaurant with familial cuisine,everybody was happy and signing in the restaurant, it was full of people and they served good food without pretention. I cannot remember the name of the place of the life of me. The house wine was good and cheap in price. We were very happy. We went for gelato again on the way back after taking some pictures on the old bridge.They have not turned that great though,because I had used that trow away camera and forgot to use the button for flash. Oh well!
That night I turned on the TV,when we came back to the hotel and I thought how lucky are we to get CNN Europe and to my dismay I saw images of the hurricane Katrina, it took me a few minutes to realize that it was taking place in America in New Orleans. I could not believe it, I was sick to my stomach to think that all the time that we were enjoying ourselves, we had no clue that in our side of the ocean so much ravage took place. Unfortunately,that was the last image of the night that took me to bed.
We had to say good-bye to Florence, one of my favorite places in the world, I am still dreaming and talking about it almost two months after leaving. We took the sleeper-train, we were a bit nervous, it seemed very strange, the train person took our passports for the whole night, and we met a great American couple before heading down for our "bunker beds". WE talked about what happened in New Orleans, and they could not believe. They had done pretty much the same thing than us except they were in Italy and elsewhere for a bit longer. We really thought that the Eurailpass was a bit too much money for what it gave us. We had to pay surplus all the time and we were never sure to have a place aboard. Here is a picture of our cabin in the train.
The trip on the train was interesting. We could not sleep at all, and we kept going to the washroom, if I had known that we had a container for the needs of the night and everything before the morning, I would have not got out all night. I have a bladder problem,so...It gave me a chance to see the mountains of Switzerland and take some pictures. Although, we have the reflection of my camera in most of them,I had a glumpse of a wonderful country that I intend to visit God willing one day. We saw our American friends in the morning,we had our little breakfast in the cabin, a cup of tea with a little pastry. We then debarked in Geneva but were all mixed up in what to do and where to go, we had to go through the customs,and we finally got to the train, but were lost at knowing where our wagon was, there was a French controller but he refused to talk to me until I say "bonjour" to him, which in my excitement and nervous state I forgot to say before talking. My son had gone to the right wagon,but we could not find him. Anyway,we finally made it safe on the train to Paris.
We, then had to take the tunnel train to London, we had no reservation, so we were wondering how it would work. We made it to the station,thank God for our friend who taught us the subway in Paris. We got there on time, we got a ''chatty'' clerk who recognized my slight French Quebec accent and teased me. He asked me if the French were as obnoxious as their reputation? I had a meaningful laugh. Not too long after, we were on our way to London for a second time. We did not want to burden our friends who graciously had us in their house on the way down,so we had to find an hotel for the night. We also had to be at the aiport very early in the morning. So, do you think we could find a decent hotel in no time, we discovered a place that sells hotels in the station,they gave us a picture of the place which looked great but... when we got in there, it was not exactly the same. We had paid in advance,we got to the room and I just wanted to die.
To be continued....
Day 5 Walking through Florence
We took our shower and got prepared for a busy day. First,we went to the lavatoria to wash our clothes,we bought the tokens, but could not insert them in, we had a nice woman who helped us with it. There was also an Internet in the place which was what my son was waiting for all that time. We put our clothes in the washing machine and stopped at the pasticerria for coffee and pastries for breakfast. We all had espresso grande and loved it,no americano coffee as they call it here. We are already fans of very strong coffee in our home, so for us it was a delightful treat. Here in town, we always complain about the bad quality of the coffee. You can see how busy the Italians are in the morning, many of them eat at the counter and sip their coffee in no time. The vespas were all around town,as soon as you open the windows, you hear the noise and see people dressed in beautiful color tones,men are not afraid to wear a yellow vest and red shoes. What a pleasant scenery! We went back to the laundromat,so my son could finally have his time on the computer and as soon as we finished everything we were ready for our first day of long walks in the beautiful city. Everyone keeps saying that Florence is the most beautiful city in the world,well I cannot deny it.
From our window in Florence in the morning
A portion of the famous Duomo
,were chased by merchants to buy designer purses at 30 euros,20 euros,and I said no each time and now I regret. Remember,we only had one backpack each and we were determined to come back with no more. Next time,we will leave with an almost empty backpack,so we can bring back more goods purchased on our trip. The best leathers,jewellries seem to be in Florence. Every corner is a chef d'oeuvre of art.
Us,posing as rich tourists...
The bridge at night
Day 6 Day of Departure from beautiful Florence
We prepared all of our luggage,we took our shower and went to another little place for breakfast at the end of the street,purchased bottles of water and went to the Internet at the laundromat. We had to vacate by 11.00 AM, although they offered us to take care of our luggage until the afternoon, it did not make sense to leave everything there and go in the heart of the city again.
We were debating of what to do before our train leave late at night. Did we have time to go on a Tuscany trip or not? We tried first to go back to the train station to see if we could get a direct train to Paris, but no luck there. So,we walked inside near the train station where we discovered a small shopping mall underneath, thank God, it was so hot outside,we could cool off. Also, my son saw an Internet cafe and my husband was interested to see some hotels in London, I left them there and decided to browse the merchandise. They had no luck with the internet places, most of the sites were not accessible,etc... We then got out and right away we saw that double-decker bus that had an itinerary in and outside the city... As we were very tired and in need of fresh air, we decided to go for it. Leisure...
